The Sound of True Grit: Music Inspired by the Novel

Television and movie audiences have grown familiar with the cattle-driving, staccato, and triumphant theme music at the beginning of nearly every Western film or television program. Yet for their 2010 remake of True Grit, the Coen brothers employed somber and contemplative bluegrass and folk-inspired music.

Navigating the gap between the rousing pomp of earlier Westerns and the more subdued soundtrack featured in the Coen brothers’ 2010 True Grit remake, Kansas City musician Jeff Harshbarger performs original songs inspired by the historic era in which the film unfolds. With his band The Revisionists he performs both new and familiar tunes keyed to the novel’s setting.

A musician, composer, and bandleader, Harshbarger was voted Person of the Year by Plasticsax.com and best bassist by Pitch Magazine. He is co-founder of Tzigane Music, an artist-run collective and record label.